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Earlier this year Apple caused a major upset among developers by updating the iPhone developer program license with clause 3.3.1. It basically stopped the use of cross-platform compilers meaning Adobe Flash could not be used to develop an app for the App Store. The move also put into doubt which other development platforms could be used and generally caused a lot of confusion.

Now Apple has seemingly changed its mind. In a post on the Apple website today the company states:

We are continually trying to make the App Store even better. We have listened to our developers and taken much of their feedback to heart. Based on their input, today we are making some important changes to our iOS Developer Program license in sections 3.3.1, 3.3.2 and 3.3.9 to relax some restrictions we put in place earlier this year.

In particular, we are relaxing all restrictions on the development tools used to create iOS apps, as long as the resulting apps do not download any code. This should give developers the flexibility they want, while preserving the security we need.

More importantly for most developers Apple has finally decided to release the App Store Review Guidelines. In doing so it is hoped developers will be able to understand what is and isn’t acceptable, and therefore increase the number of apps getting accepted on first review by Apple.

This announcement reads as if Apple has taken down all restrictions placed on app development. As long as no code is downloaded you are free to use what you like for development. Does that mean developing in Flash and porting to iPhone is acceptable again? On initial reading the answer seems to be yes.

The news most developers will care more about, though is the release of the review guidelines. This could mean an end to receiving obscure e-mails from Apple explaining an app has been rejected for a reason that makes little sense. Now developers can ensure an app meets the guidelines before submission.

The only issue that could be faced now is if the guidelines are quite obscure. Certain clauses may not be clear and encompass a very wide area. Even so, developers will be able to feedback on such clauses to Apple and get them updated to be very clear.

Overall it’s a good day for iPhone developers and Apple looks a little less like restrictive in their App Store practices.